Ship Tonnage Explained - Deadweight,
Cargo, Gross, Net, Displacement

Everyone who has looked at specifications
for steamships is often bewildered by the many different tonnages used for the same vessel.
An ocean liner may have different gross tonnage, depending
on which country's rules were used in determining the weight. Below is an article from 1932 that provides a good explanation
on just what the tonnages for ships really are.

There are five kinds
of tonnage in use in the shipping business.

They are:

Deadweight,

Cargo,

Gross,

Net and

Displacement Tonnages

Tonnage Defined

1.

Deadweight Tonnage:
expresses the number of tons of 2,240 pounds that a vessel can transport of cargo, stores, and bunker fuel. It is the difference
between the number of tons of water a vessel displaces "light" and the number of tons it displaces when submerged to the "load
line." Deadweight tonnage is used interchangeably with deadweight carrying capacity. A vessel's capacity for weight cargo
is less than its total deadweight tonnage.

2.

Cargo Tonnage: is either "weight" or "measurement." The weight ton in the United States and in British
countries is the English long or gross ton of 2,240 pounds. In France
and other countries having the metric system a weight ton is 2,204.6 pounds. A "measurement" ton is usually 40 cubic feet,
but in some instances a larger number of cubic feet is taken for a ton. Most ocean package freight is taken at weight or measurement
(W/M) ship's option.

3.

Gross Tonnage: applies to vessels, not to cargo. It is determined by dividing by 100 the contents, in
cubic feet, of the vessel's closed-in spaces. A vessel ton is 100 cubic feet. The register of a vessel states both gross and
net tonnage.

4.

Net Tonnage: is a vessel's gross tonnage minus deductions of space occupied by accommodations for crew,
by machinery, for navigation, by the engine room and fuel. A vessel's net tonnage expresses the space available for the accommodation
of passengers and the stowage of cargo. A ton of cargo
in most instances occupies less than 100 cubic feet; hence the vessel's cargo tonnage may exceed its net tonnage, and, indeed,
the tonnage of cargo carried is usually greater than the gross tonnage.

5.

Displacement: of a vessel is the weight, in tons of 2,240 pounds, of the vessel and its contents. Displacement
"light" is the weight of the vessel without stores, bunker fuel, or cargo. Displacement "loaded" is the weight of the vessel
plus cargo, fuel, and stores.

For a modern freight steamer the following relative tonnage figures would ordinarily be approximately correct:

Net tonnage 4,000

Gross tonnage 6,000

Deadweight carrying capacity 10,000

Displacement, loaded, about 13,350

Registered Tonnage

A vessel's registered tonnage, whether gross or net, is practically the same under the American rules and the British rules.
When measured according to the Panama or Suez tonnage rules most vessels have larger gross and net tonnages than when measured
by British or American national rules.